Collapsible crate.



'W. l. CLAIBORN. COLLAPSIBLE CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3. I913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- Pat-ented Nov.

ZJZCZa z'o TIL,

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 50., WASHINGTON, D. c.

W. I. CLAIBORN.

COLLAPSIBLE CRATE.

APPLICATION man SEPT. 3. 1913.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- m w W V wholesalers, retailers, and all class of mer- E arr WILL AM I. CLAIBORN, or oRooKEn, MISSOURI.

ooLLArsIBLn CRATE.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I. CLAIBoRN, citizen of the United States, residin at Crocker, in the county of Pulaski and .tate of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Crates, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates'to new and useful improvements in shipping crates.

There has been a long felt want among breakage is paramount. Being cognizant oft the above conditions, the crate of the present inventlon has been designed with such regard to number, proportion and arrangement of parts that it may be cheaply manufactured, will be durable'and efficient in its action, and may be readily collapsed'tojassume the form of a flat board orplank, so

that when the crates have reached their des tination and the contents have been removed, they may be readily folded to occupy a minimum'amount of. space in the return shipment. p

" An object of equal importance with "the foregoing resides in the provisionof a crate of the 'class described which maybe readily and efliciently employed in shipping poul try, small live stock, such as sheep or hogs,

vegetables, eggs or' sacks of grain and the ."UQ, like.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claim which is apended hereto and forms a part of this application. 1 l

With reference tothe drawings, wherein I have illustrated the preferred embodiment ofmy invention as it is reduced to practice,

and throughout the several views ofwhich slmllar reference numerals designate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a side eleva-' tion of the cratewiththe various'foldable Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented N vQZ, 1915,

Application filed September 3,1913. Serial No. 787,905.

is anend view Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view with the various elements of the crate in folded position; and Fig. 4 is an edge ele-. vation of the crate with the parts in folded relation.

- Proceeding now to the description of the drawings, the numeral 10 designates the bottom wall or floor of the crate which, in the preferred embodiment, is rectangular in shape and is formed from pine or similar cheap wood. Inthis connection, it is, of course,-obvious that the shape of the bottom wall 10, as well as the material from which it is made, is a purely arbitrary matter, and one which will be governed entirely by the purpose for which each batch of crates is to be employed. If found desirable, the hottom wall 10 may be square, and may be constructed of any suitable composition, such as compressed paper and the like.

The floor orbottom wall 10 carries four corner posts which are individually designated by the numerals 11,12,13 and 14. These posts-are pivotally attached at their lower ends to the four corners of the member 10 by hinge rods, indicated'at 15 and 16. Formed on the floor-. 10 at one extremity thereof or securedto the floor in any suitable" manner, is an upstanding cleat 10 extending transversely between the filling strips 19 and 20, and preferably secured to the floor at the opposite extremity thereof is an upstanding cleat 10 which is also arrangedtransversely of the floor. The cleats 10 and 10 receive the intermediate POI? tions'of the rods 15 and- 516 respectively and serve to connect the said rods with the floor. The corner posts 11 and 12 are arranged at one terminal of the member 10, while the members '13 and 14 are arranged at the opposite corners of the other terminal of the member'10. In pivoting the lower terminal of the corner posts 11 and 12 to one terminal of the member 10, a portion of each corner loo on the longitudinal edges of the member 10, the outer face of'the lower terminals of the members 11 and 12 will be in longitudinal alinement with the lowermost steps 21 and g 22 which are formed'on the inner faces of the posts 13 and 14. In this connection, it

is t'o'be noted that a number of these steps are cut onthe inner faces of the members Band 14 to receive the terminals ofthe pivotedslats 23 which form thesiole wallspf the slats of each side of the crate are sue the crate. The outer faces of the corner posts 11 and 12 are stepped, as indicated at" 2 1 and 25, respectively, for a similar purpose.

It will be apparent upon reference to Fig. 3 particularly that by thus stepping the inner faces of the posts 13 and 145 and the outer faces of the posts 11 and 12, the corresponding steps of the posts 11 and 13 and 12 and l-lare arranged'in longitudinal alinement and are comprehended in the same longitudinal plane. The terminals of the side wall slats 23 are pivotally secured by. bolts, rivets, or any other suitable fastening devices 26 at points approximately in the center of the various steps. it will be noted upon reference to Fig. 3 particularly that cessively disposed in greater spaced relation from the filling strips 19 and 20, the obvious purpose of this construction being to permit the corner posts 11, 12, 13 and late be folded, and at the same time making it possible to hold the side wall slats 23 so that all of these elements will lie in the plane of the bottom 'ivall '10, thus producing the plank like conformation of the crate when itsrelements are in collapsed position;

' posts.

for an obvious purpose.

As a means for holding the corner posts in vertical position When the crate 1S packed,

there has been'provided a pair of retaining rods indicated at 29 and 30. These retaining rods 29 and 30 are equipped-at one terminal with eyelets 31 which receive pivot studs or pins 32. These studs 32 are secured to the spacing strips 19 and 20, as will be readily observed upon reference to Fig. 2. The free terminals of the retaining rods 29 and 30 are formed with hooks, indicated at 33. It will be obvious upon reference to Fig. 1 particularly that by applying the hooks 33 to the keeper eye1ets 34: which are carried by the corner posts 11 and 12, the downward swinging movement of the corner posts into folded. position is prevented, and the various elements of the crate are firmly held in open position.

In order to bring the outer edges of the uppermost side wall slats, indicated at 35 and 36, into longitudinal alinement with the outer faces 'of the posts 13 and 14, their terminals, wh ch are secured to the posts 13 and 1 1 have been cut-away asindicated at 37 and 38. The ends of the crate are closed by slatawhich are indicated at 39 and are applied to "the corner postsby nails, screws,

rivets, bolts or any other suitable or de sired fastening means.

The upper wall or top of the crate consists ofa plurality of transversely extending slats indicated at These slats 10 are .securedto-thc uppermost side Wall slats 35 ping of poultry or small live stock, such as sheep or hogsthere has been provided a small'sliding door which is indicated at 42 and consists essentially in a board which is slidable transversely on the top of the crate. The terminals of this board 42 vare normally disposed in closed position. on the upper edges of themembers 35 and 36, and are held against upward .movement by retaining strips lama As a means for limiting the sliding movement of this member 12., there has been provided a stop strip 45, the terminals of which are secured to the adjacent closure slats 46'an'd 17. A co-acting stop strip 18 has been secured to the upper face of the member 1221101 obviously limits the sliding movement of this member 42 by engagement with the members 43 and 45, as will bemost clearly apparent upon reference toFig.2. i i

From the foregoing, the manner in which the elements of the crate are manipulated when it is desired to open or fold the crate will be obvious. i

In conclusion, it is desirable to emphasize the fact that the crate of the present invention is peculiarly simple in construction and occu pies when in folded position a minimum compass, thus imparting to it special value inasmuch as a number of the crates may be returned in a minimumstorage space after they have reached their destination and their contents have been removed.

In reduction to practice, I have found that the form of my invention, illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description as the preferred embodiment, is the m'ost'efiicient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of my device will necessarily vary, I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrifiring any of the advantages of my inven tion asldefinediin the appended claim.

Inlineiwith"the-above statement, it may bewell tonote that one of the variations which may be resorted to in the employment of this invention is the use of the device'as acollapsible cradle. It is obvious from the foregoing description that the crate could be readily employed in this manner, and would be particularly efiicient inasmuch as it could be quickly folded and placed in a closet, drawer, or any other out-of-the-way place.

If desired, the crate of this invention might be removably mounted on a Wheeled truck to provide a baby carriage. When the crate is thus used, it Will be apparent that the body of the carriage can be readily removed and folded to permit the storage of the vehicle in a minimum space.

What I claim is: V

In a device of the character vdescribed, a floor, upstanding filling strips carried by the side edges of the floor, transversely. extending upstanding cleats carried by the floor at the extremities thereof, a plurality of posts, a pair of hinge rods pivotally connecting said posts With the floor at the corners thereof, the said cleats bearing over the said hinge rods and connecting the'rods With the floor, a plurality of slatsforming end Walls and secured to the opposite corner posts at the terminals of the crate, a plurality of slats forming side Walls and pivotally secured at their extremities to the longitudinally alined corner posts, a plurality 0fslats forming a closure for the crate and secured tothe uppermost of the side Wall slats, a pair of retaining rods pivotally secured to the inner faces of said filling strips and provided at their free extremities With hooks, and eyelets carried by a pair of corner posts, the hooks of said rods being detachably engageable With said eyelets for hold- 7 ing the side and end Walls in open position and the said retaining rods andeyelets being disposed entirelywithin the crate.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature v in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM I. CLAIBORN. [1,. s.]

Witnesses FRANK BURKS, GUY RoWDnN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

